{"product_id":"the-oliver-typewriter-company-1912-framed-print","title":"The Oliver Typewriter Company - 1912 | Framed Print","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOliver Typewriter Company — Woodstock, Illinois\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Oliver Typewriter Company built machines that did something its competitors did not — let the typist see the words the moment they were struck. That single idea, conceived by a Methodist minister in Iowa, became one of the most distinctive typewriter designs of the industrial era.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Story\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe machine that let you see the words\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMost typewriters of the era struck their letters from below, hidden under the carriage. A typist could not read what had been written without lifting the machine and looking underneath. Thomas Oliver patented a different approach in 1891 — twin towers of U-shaped typebars descending from above, each letter appearing on the page the instant it was typed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe company incorporated in Chicago in 1895 and moved production to Woodstock, Illinois the following year. At its peak it employed 875 workers producing 375 machines a day. Telegraphers, railroad clerks, and reporters swore by the Oliver's deep, reliable impression. The company built its own skyscraper on North Dearborn Street in Chicago in 1907.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis letterhead survived.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Art\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe art is not inspired by history. It is history.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery image in The Ephemera Collective began as a real artifact. This one was created by a master engraver over 115 years ago, long before computers or any digital tools, at a time when the main instruments of design were a skilled hand, a steel plate, and time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe original document has been carefully restored — cleaned, recomposed, and prepared for archival print without adding or inventing a single element. Every line you see was drawn in the early 1900s. Pulled from the archive, not conjured from a prompt.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe story doesn't stop at the frame\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEach print ships with a companion postcard. Scan the QR code with any phone — no app, no subscription — and you'll hear a narrated audio story about Thomas Oliver, the machine he built, and what happened to the company he left behind.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe story runs about three minutes. It covers how Oliver came to his design, what made the machine exceptional in the field, and the strange final chapter of his life — mid-invention, at a train station, between one great idea and the next.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHow it feels\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is not only decoration. It's a conversation starter — the kind of \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003ewall art that stops guests in their tracks and invites the question: “What's the story behind this?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAnd now you have the answer — researched, documented, and narrated in full. This is a boutique piece, only available from Chronicles \u0026amp; Color, made in limited runs, from a collection you won't find on a shelf at any big box store or scrolling through an online marketplace.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWho this is for\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTypewriter collectors and enthusiasts\u003c\/strong\u003e who want a piece that goes beyond the machine itself — into the company, the inventor, and the industrial moment that made both possible.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLovers of American industrial design\u003c\/strong\u003e who recognize the Oliver's twin-tower silhouette and understand what made it different from everything else on the market.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWriters, editors, and journalists\u003c\/strong\u003e drawn to the tool that their counterparts a century ago trusted above all others for its deep impression and reliable performance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAnyone who gives gifts that require explanation\u003c\/strong\u003e — the kind where the story is half the point.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"eyebrow\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe details\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ctable style=\"font-size: 12px; width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse;\"\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"font-size: 12px; padding: 6px 8px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e5e5e5; width: 44%; color: #555;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrame dimensions\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"font-size: 12px; padding: 6px 8px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e5e5e5;\"\u003e21¼\" W × 17¼\" H\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"font-size: 12px; padding: 6px 8px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e5e5e5; color: #555;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVisible print\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"font-size: 12px; padding: 6px 8px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e5e5e5;\"\u003e16\" W × 12\" H\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"font-size: 12px; padding: 6px 8px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e5e5e5; color: #555;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrame\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"font-size: 12px; padding: 6px 8px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e5e5e5;\"\u003ePremium box frame, black finish, Perspex glaze\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"font-size: 12px; padding: 6px 8px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e5e5e5; color: #555;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMatting\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"font-size: 12px; padding: 6px 8px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e5e5e5;\"\u003eSnow white 2\" border mount\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"font-size: 12px; padding: 6px 8px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e5e5e5; color: #555;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaper\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"font-size: 12px; padding: 6px 8px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e5e5e5;\"\u003eEMA 200gsm archival quality\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"font-size: 12px; padding: 6px 8px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e5e5e5; color: #555;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIncludes\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"font-size: 12px; padding: 6px 8px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e5e5e5;\"\u003eCompanion postcard with QR access to full audio story\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"font-size: 12px; padding: 6px 8px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e5e5e5; color: #555;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePackaging\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"font-size: 12px; padding: 6px 8px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e5e5e5;\"\u003ePremium archival presentation\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"close\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOwn a piece of the story.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chronicles \u0026 Color","offers":[{"title":"Black","offer_id":47741074112699,"sku":null,"price":179.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0680\/6487\/0587\/files\/TheOliverTypewriterCompany_1912_hero-1x1-B.jpg?v=1777533008","url":"https:\/\/chroniclesandcolor.com\/products\/the-oliver-typewriter-company-1912-framed-print","provider":"Chronicles \u0026 Color","version":"1.0","type":"link"}